00:02Riding your bike through autumn and winter can be a pretty miserable affair especially if like
00:08us you live in the UK when it can be cold, rainy and you're often riding on roads that
00:14are completely strewn in potholes, muck and salt. Now here at Cycling Weekly we cannot promise to
00:22make your winter rides as fun and enjoyable as they are during the summer but we have come up
00:27with a few ingenious little hacks and hints that can help get your bike ready and hopefully alleviate
00:33a little bit of the pain. Now these go a little bit beyond the usual recommendations for how to
00:39get your bike ready for winter. To be honest we've already made those videos so if you look in the
00:43description below you'll see links to those videos there. So let's just dive straight in.
00:52One of the things that I found really really useful to have during the winter is extra visibility.
00:59Obviously we're going to be riding when it's a little bit dark so anything that makes you stand
01:02out a bit more for car drivers or other traffic is in my book a really really important thing. So
01:08I've
01:09picked up some really really cool little stickers. These only cost a couple of pounds but they are
01:15ideal for sticking all over your frame and whatever components you have. The good thing is if you've
01:21got a nice looking bike these are just plain little black stickers however when a bright light shines on
01:27them they reflect back in bright silver so it just picks you out during those winter rides. So you can
01:34put these wherever you want on the bike and make sure that you stay safe.
01:43One of the things that can often happen when you're riding during the winter especially in the rain
01:47is your hands get pretty slippery so you operate in the shifters and sometimes the brakes can be a
01:53little bit sketchy. One of the things I found works really really well in this case is a little bit
01:58of
01:58grip tape. Now this is actually really really simple to find online only costs a couple of pounds and it
02:05comes in a roll
02:06that's long enough for you to be able to share it with all of your friends. It's sticky backed and
02:11you can cut
02:12it to shape to fit wherever you want it so where you want to have that little extra grip. It's
02:18the same
02:18stuff as you find on a skateboard so it is quite rough so be aware of that when it comes
02:22to your gloves
02:22but for me personally I would much prefer to have that safer shift in the braking than worry about wearing
02:29my gloves out. We often talk about going for longer steadier rides during the winter and one of the
02:38things that becomes paramount for all of us is a bit of extra comfort. Now your bar tape goes a
02:43long
02:43way to make you comfortable when you're on a longer ride so now is the time to first of all
02:49take a check
02:50have a little look at your bar tape and see if it's worn. If it is it's time to change
02:55it and what
02:56I'd recommend you do is to change it for something with a bit more grip or a bit more cushioning.
03:01Some people double wrap their bars during the winter which makes it a lot bigger but also very
03:06very comfortable or you can get some little gel pads. Now again these are a simple thing to find
03:14lots of bike shops sell these and they don't cost a huge amount and they basically go underneath your
03:20bar tape so you get parts to go over the top and parts to go on the drops little squidgy
03:26bits here
03:26and they're reusable that's the other good thing here so you don't have to worry about changing these
03:31over all the time so if you change your bar tape you can just change this. If your bar tape
03:35is in good
03:36condition you should be able to unwind it and then apply these underneath and then put your bar tape back
03:43on again but if not as I said it could be a good time to get yourself some nice squishy
03:48or grippy bar tape
03:49to keep you safe during the winter.
03:56One of my pet hates during the winter is getting a rusty chain. Now obviously we can all try and
04:01alleviate that by keeping our bikes as clean as possible but sometimes it's just not possible.
04:07If you've been out for a ride in the evening it's cold and it's wet all you really want to
04:11do is get
04:12in and get warm. So what you can do is you can find chains that are a bit more durable
04:18and a bit more
04:19resistant to rusting often ones with stainless steel in them. Now they can be quite expensive
04:25but because they're more durable and more resistant to rusting they're often worth their weight. Now
04:31Konex do a really good one this is the 11SX, 11 speed chain and this has got stainless steel links
04:37in it so it should last a long time even when there's lots of salt on the road. Obviously we
04:43still
04:44are going to tell you to clean your bike as much as possible because it is going to work much
04:49better
04:49through the winter. But now is your time to get yourself a new chain.
04:59Another safety tip is to do with your brakes. So here we're not just talking about making sure
05:05your brake pads are clean and that they are in good working order but the actual compounds of those
05:12brake pads. When was the last time you thought about this for example? Now if you've got rim brakes or
05:18disc
05:18brakes you can find brake compounds that are better for use during the wet and the mucky conditions of
05:25winter. If you've got rim brakes you can get brake pads such as these Swiss Stop BXP that are designed
05:32for
05:33use during the wet and mucky winter months so they have a compound that lasts longer but it also
05:40provides much more reliable braking power during wet weather use. You can buy them either as full kits
05:47or as the brake pads themselves as a pack of four and that would be certainly something you might want
05:52to consider. If you've got disc brakes here we're talking about sintered brake pads. Now you can often
05:59check which brake pads you have by taking out the brake pads from your brake and looking at first of
06:06all the back of it. A lot of them have it either printed or stamped whether it's a resin pad,
06:10an organic
06:11pad or if it's a sintered pad. But a sintered pad is designed to last longer and also be more
06:18reliable in
06:19wet weather. So it's made up of not only the standards of resin but lots of metallic particles which are
06:25designed
06:26to provide that extra braking power. So if you don't have sintered brake pads on your bike it's a good
06:32thing
06:32to try to fit.
06:38Okay so this one is a given but mudguards. I know they're boring but they are a really really good
06:46idea if you are going to go riding outside in the wet. Especially if you're riding with your friends
06:52they will all appreciate it. Now if your bike has got eyelets for mudguards then you must fit a good
07:01proper set of mudguards. There's nothing quite like it. These provide the best coverage. However if your
07:07bike doesn't have those then there are still options. You can get some really cool very small and discreet mudguards
07:15like these ones here. And these are designed to fit most bikes without those mudguard mounts. They don't
07:23obviously provide the same amount of protection but they will keep your bum dry or keep a little
07:29bit of spray off your face when you're out in those wet conditions.
07:38Dirt doesn't like clean bikes. There I said it. Having a clean bike is a good starting point during
07:44the winter for keeping everything running properly but there's one extra level of cleanliness you can
07:50go to to keep your bike extra clean through the winter and that is to apply some polish to it.
07:58Now we're not
07:59talking about spraying it everywhere because that would be crazy but applying some silicone polish to
08:04the frame and the forks will give mud and mug less chance to grip onto that frame keeping your bike
08:13cleaner and it means then it's going to be easier to clean at all times. You can either apply it
08:19directly
08:19to the frame or you can apply it to a rag and then wipe it on but the best thing
08:24is because it's nice and
08:25slippery then that dirt just doesn't stand a chance to stay onto your bike. If you don't want to use
08:30silicone spray one thing you can do is you can get some invisible protection so you can get tape that
08:36will fit onto your bike which will then protect it first of all from dirt but also from any knocks
08:42as
08:43well so that could be another option another little extra tip to keep your bike working perfectly through the winter.
08:54And my last tip today is one that we've been banging on quite a lot and that is going tubeless.
09:03Yes I know
09:04we keep talking about it I know there's people out there that don't really like the idea but if you've
09:10ever stood on the side of the road with a puncture when your hands don't work everything's covered in
09:16muck and it's raining it's a miserable feeling. So anything that should prevent that from happening
09:22is going to make sure that you're going to enjoy your ride a little bit more during the winter. So
09:29if you can try tubeless. Well I hope you find these little hacks and hints useful and that they should
09:38make your winter riding a little bit more enjoyable. Now if you've got any different tips or hacks that you
09:45use to make your winter riding a little bit more bearable please put it in the comments section
09:49below and don't forget to like and subscribe to keep up with our latest releases. But until the next one
09:55we'll see you soon
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